Istanbul — Touring Topkapi; Entering the Grounds

You would think that in all the times Ursula and I have visited Istanbul, we would’ve at least once before managed to hit the world-famous Topkapi Palace in the Fatih District. But, nope, never have… until our April visit this year. And since on prior visits we’d already seen the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, and the Basilica Cisterns, we ran out of excuses to miss this wonderful place. Locals will tell you that you only need couple hours to see it all. Baloney. We spent over five hours, and I’m sure we still missed some of it. Give yourself the day. You can always leave earlier and hit the nearby Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia, but you do not want to run out of time should you start Topkapi later.

You’ll also want to arrive early because lines form. Long lines. Long, long lines.

Today we begin with a four-week look at this huge complex. Over those next several weeks I’ll show you the armory, jewels, harem, and lots of other stuff. But today I’m going to concentrate on the grounds and the first structure we entered, the kitchen. Let’s start with the image below, the original location of the Sancak-ı Şerif, the standard of the Prophet Muhammad.

The grounds here are very impressive, and there are plenty of trees available to frame your shots:

There are four main courtyards here at the Topkapi Palace, and in the third courtyard you’ll find the Chamber of Petitions (Arz Odası):

As for architectural details, you’ll be greeted by some interesting ones almost everywhere you turn. I wound up on this visit taking many shots such as this shot of the columns and arches adorning the portico of the Conqueror’s Pavllion (Fatih Köşkü):

In the second courtyard you’ll find access to the palace kitchens, which also house a collection of porcelains. Today’s last four photos show what you’ll find in the kitchen area:

On Wednesday I’ll show you emeralds and gold, including the famous Topkapi Dagger that was the object of desire in the 1964 comedy-heist film Topkapi.

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